TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed VanadiumCorp will target the primary vanadium electrolyte (VE), vanadium chemicals and the vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) markets to maximise competitive advantage, as it embarks on a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its 100%-owned Lac Dore project, in Quebec.

"The industry assumption that vanadium-redox batteries (VRB) will remain expensive is driven by the lack of a primary VE producer. We are confident that our approach represents a unique market opportunity for the company, as a stable supply at low cost is the key for VRB technology to succeed. Our objective is to become the key supplier for North America by integrating VE technology with a significant vanadium resource,” advised CEO Adriaan Bakker.

The company announced that, following discussions with various vanadium battery developers, the company was encouraged that, unlike current production methods, primary VE technology would eliminate costly conversions of metallurgical grade V₂O₅ to VE, as currently used by existing VE producers.

Being a North American supplier would reduce costs as well as political risk, compared with vanadium supply from other countries. VanadiumCorp advised that the market study chapter of the Lac Dore vanadium project’s PEA would seek to highlight strong demand for premium vanadium products in the domestic market, as well as growth and forecasts for VRB technology for grid storage, peak shaving and mobile applications.

The company added that a similar market study by the Canadian government was also starting this year.

In 2015, the company reported a National Instrument 43-101-compliant inferred vanadium resource of 621.21-million pounds V₂O₅, with favourable metallurgy. The company was busy developing a business model that combined VE process development and pilot plant options, for which selecting engineering firms and interested partners was currently under way.